A Wisconsin law aimed at protecting small businesses from excessive regulations could serve as a national model.
Wisconsin enacted the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act in 2004. It requires state agencies to consider the impact of new regulations on small businesses, before they enforce them. National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation Executive Director Karen Harned says the law is a critical tool in making sure small businesses are not overburdened.
The group is launching a review of the act, in order to help push for similar measures in other states. Harned says they're looking at everything that's happened since the law went into effect. They want to make sure it was properly enforced and applied in the state.
Laws do exist to protect small businesses from some federal regulations, but Harned says they often have no protection on the state level. Harned says that's despite small businesses being the largest job makers in the nation. She says that's why it's critical to make sure Wisconsin's law is working.